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The man who launched a thousand chips

By on July 27, 2010

 

Wally Amos’ recipe to success is simply that of chocolate chip cookies. For over thirty years, the celebrity cookie-maker’s name adorned households across the United States and later in Southeast Asia due to his beloved baked goods under the “Famous Amos” and “Uncle Wally’s” brands. Recently, his “Chip & Cookie” stores in Hawaii have been making quite a splash. Moreover, as a strong advocate of literacy, he has successfully helped thousands of adults learn to read.

And it all started with a cookie.

“When I was 12 years old,” Wally recalls, “my parents divorced. I left Florida and moved to New York City to live with my mother’s sister, Aunt Della. It was she who first made chocolate chip cookies for me. She was loving, and all the love she put in those cookies came forth when you bit into one.”

“I can remember the very small kitchen we had, the aroma of cookies filling the house. I would get the mixing bowl and spoon and lick off all the cookie dough. That was my childhood.”

As a young man, Wally moved into the air force (where Aunt Della’s cookies proved popular, too); and later to a high-profile stint as a talent agent for the William Morris Agency, wherein he booked such groups as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Simon and Garfunkel.

But show business wasn’t Wally’s calling, and he left it shortly to open his first cookie store in Los Angeles called “Famous Amos”. What prompted him to make that move? “It was the love for it,” Wally professes. “The thought process led me to open a store with chocolate chip cookies, which became my passion and my absolute dream. It still is.”

The store gained popularity and eventually, Famous Amos’ famous cookies were found in supermarkets across America and as a result, in countless households too, mostly through word of mouth. Food is, after all, an integral part of the family. “It’s the one activity the family takes part in. Before everyone starts their day, they have breakfast together. At the end of the day, everybody participates in making various meals. It’s a time of sharing, warmth, friendship, and family.”

The key ingredient to Wally’s success, however, is his positivity. His optimistic outlook on life despite the trials he has faced has made him a highly sought-after motivational speaker. 

“For the last thirty-five years, I have been a positive person. I really do work on being positively consistent in what I say and do. I think people acknowledge that, and know that it is pure Wally Amos.”

Wally has shared his words of wisdom on television shows such as Oprah, and with university students and corporations, inspiring people to work towards pursuing their goals and stressing the importance of a positive attitude.

Despite the state the world is in, Wally encourages chasing after your dreams. “You have to be positive regardless; you cannot blame conditions or allow the economy or world events to prevent you from pursuing your dream,” he urges. “The world will go on whether you [do it] or not, but your dream could help the world go on in a smoother way, because we are each other; we support and learn from one another. And since the beginning of time, people have done that in the best and worst of times. Don’t let your dream die unfulfilled. Don’t let it die, period.”

“If Wally Amos, a high school dropout with no money but a strong desire and a lot of energy, was able to pursue his dream, succeed, fail, and succeed again, so can you. So can anyone.”

“You’re gonna go through [trying times] anyway, so you could either go through them crying or with a positive attitude. You live life to the degree you think you can, so be positive. The only reason to be enthusiastic is waking up. If you wake up, it’s a great day! Make the best of it.”

And indeed, Wally is living his ultimate dream. His “Chip & Cookie” stores in Hawaii, represented by two adorable mascots in the form of chocolate chip cookies, attract many customers ranging from kids to kids-at-heart. “The stores are always very fun, very colorful,” Wally describes. “It’s a beautiful store. It gives people a fun, memorable experience from being in a Chip & Cookie store and meeting Wally Amos.”

“In the stores, I read to kids,” Wally says. In fact, literacy is something Wally holds dear. An advocate of various organizations since the late ’70s, Wally has helped many illiterate adults learn to read, and realized that to eliminate this issue, literacy in children needed to be focused on. Wally has thus founded the Read it Loud Foundation, a campaign promoting reading to children. “I want to encourage parents to read to kids.”

So, what’s Wally cooking up next? He’s got his eyes set on bringing Chip & Cookie to Japan, which he visited last month for the first time since 1983. “I love Japan, I really do. I want to do business in Japan more than ever before. I’m looking for a partner with sufficient resources, and also with heart, who loves kids, and has a fun personality. The business has got to be there, but if you have a concept and you promote it, the business will follow.”

Finally, what does family mean to Wally Amos? “That is an interesting question, because I’ve had four families,” Wally muses. “Family is not necessarily people living in the same room. We’re all family, underneath our culture and language, whatever color or belief we have. We have the same needs, the same compassion for life. The more you travel, the more you see we are not different. We are connected. That’s family.”

Wally Amos is a celebrity cookie-maker, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and founder of “Famous Amos” cookies, which opened branches in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand. He currently owns the popular “Chip & Cookie” cookie stores in Kailua and Waikiki, Hawaii.  

Wally Amos

www.wallyamos.com

Chip and Cookie

www.chipandcookie.com

Read It Loud Foundation

www.readitloud.org

 

font-family: Aria
; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; color: #e4373a; margin: 0px”>12 Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Child  according to Wally Amos

Reading aloud to children…

1. Develops language skills.

2.Improves listening comprehension.

3. Increases the child’s attention span.

4. Builds vocabulary.

5.Exposes the child to good grammar.

6.Exposes the child to new experiences and information.

7.Stimulates the imagination.

8.Stimulates brain development.

9.Promotes higher critical thinking skills.

10.Creates a bond between the child and the reader.

11. Builds confidence and self-esteem.

12. Teaches values.

 

About Martin Leroux